The Next Generation - The Curse (And Other Short Stories)
by Leopard Gal
Summary: A series of oneshots based on the Cross Kids AU over on Tumblr. Years after the Lifehold was recovered, many BLADEs decided to start a family. This is their story. ENDGAME SPOILERS- rating varies per chapter.
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys! This is gonna be a series of oneshots featuring the children from the Cross Kids AU over on Tumblr (which was started by Shiro Hunter- they also have an account here under the same name). As such, this will be mostly OCs. I'll post who the characters belong to and the warnings for each chapter as we go- I have three written as of now, and this story is rated M for one in particular; "The Curse." The other two are pretty mild.

The premise is that a few years after the events of the game, the Lifehold Core was repaired to the point that new life could be created- the humans of NLA couldn't get their bodies back (due to the memories being destroyed), but their biological data was still intact, so they were able to create children. (Lao also came home somewhere along the line.) These will take place somewhere between 20 and 30 years after the game, and are not necessarily in chronological order.

Mars Cross is Cross (Red/Dawn Cross- from Drowning!) and Lao's child, belonging to me.

Nyna is Cross (Genesis) and Elma's child, belonging to Noot-Scoot

Erza and Weiss are Cross (Shwarzer) and Elma's children, belonging to Shiro Hunter

Sage is Cross (Xena) and Elma's child, belonging to The-Jade-Phenoix

Ewan is Cross (Lu) and Elma's child, belonging to Chaxs

No warnings for this particular chapter!

* * *

"Alright kids, this is your first mission without adult supervision, so you'd best come back in one piece. Especially you," Doug added pointedly. The subject of conversation rolled his eyes.

"Y'all are heading out to Turtle Nest to gather samples of the bioluminescent moss that grows there. The geeks say it dies in direct sunlight, so do your best to bring it back alive. None of y'all have skells yet, so don't fight anything within ten levels of the team member taking point- That's Erza, for the record. I don't want to hear about a power struggle when y'all get back. Everyone set?"

The four nodded- Erza firmly, Nyna slowly after checking his gear, Sage softly from beneath her hood, and Mars sarcastically, complete with an even more impressive eyeroll.

"Alright- move out!"

Erza turned to his teammates. "You all have your weapons? Ammo? Your armor is secure? And Sage, are our provisions-"

"We're set Boss, let's go already!" Mars whined.

"We're good, Erza." Nyna assured.

"Alright. We're off."

The four left out of NLA's east gate, and were barely out of the city before Mars broke into a run.

"Yahoo! Finally on my own again! Good-bye training camp, hello Mira!"

"Hey! Don't run ahead!" Erza shouted.

"What? You've got those big, long legs, you can catch up!" Mars replied, walking backwards.

"I'm talking point here- _You_ stand behind _Me_."

"Whatever. You missed a collectible."

"I got it," Nyna chirped.

"Somebody's on his game today, eh?"

"Somebody's got to keep your dumb ass in one piece."

Mars smirked, then proceeded to fall back by Sage.

"How'd that stupid kid even pass?" Erza mumbled.

"He's not so bad, Erza. He'll calm down when we get farther out of the city…. And he's older than both of us."

"He sure doesn't act like it."

"Can't argue there," Nyna smirked.

Erza looked back at his lagging teammates. "What kind of gun does he wield, anyway?"

"Raygun."

Erza stopped in his tracks. "Mars."

"Yeah?"

"Where's your gun?"

"…Huh?"

"Where. Is. Your. Raygun? They're big. Bulky. Not at all easy to hide. And I don't see you carrying one."

"I got it, don't worry."

Erza clenched his teeth. "Don't lie to me. You forgot it, and we're turning back."

"I said it's fine, Boss! Let's keep goin'!"

"Where is it, BLADE?"

"It's a surprise. And I don't like ruining surprises."

Erza clenched his fists. "It's not a good surprise to get into a battle with and indigen and find out one of your teammates is crippled! We're-"

"Just shuddap, will ya? I'm fine." Mars grumbled, all humor gone from his voice. He pushed past Erza roughly.

Erza made to rebuke him, but Nyna laid a hand on his shoulder. "He says he's fine. Trust your teammates."

Erza took a deep breath. "Fine. I trust you."

* * *

At the entrance of the cave, the team stopped in awe.

"Woah…" Nyna gasped.

Erza smiled. "I should tell Weiss to come here on her next date."

"That's your full sister, right?" Mars asked.

"Yeah, she's my sister."

"I knew her when we were kids- who's she dating?"

"Ewan."

Mars gaped.

"What?"

"But… Ewan's Elma's kid too, right?"

"Yeah."

"Your sister is dating your brother!?""

"It's not like that, Mars," Nyna corrected. "Mom's race- the plastrainians- don't have DNA like Earth animals. All living things on Earth are carbon-based life forms. All life on Mira is ether-based. And the Plastraineans are silicon-based. They don't reproduce in remotely the same way as humans- if it weren't for the lifehold, our species would be completely incompatible. If you tested our DNA, we're identical copies of our human parent with some plastrainian mutations. Some of us have more than others."

Mars frowned. "But even if you're not related like that… you're still family."

Erza shrugged. "Not really. It's not like we grew up together or anything. Weiss and Ewan hadn't even met until recently."

Sage tugged on Mars' shirt. He leaned down to her level and smiled kindly. "What is it?"

"It's getting late."

"She wants us to get a move on." They echoed.

Mars raised an eyebrow, but entered the cave silently.

Sage was in charge of retrieving and securing the samples while the others stood guard. Sage stood, turned and nodded.

Erza smiled. "Alright, let's-"

He was interrupted by a blast of gunfire.

"Level 50 petremand! Run!" Nyna shouted.

The four made a mad dash to the exit, but the indigen was gaining on them. Erza saw a bright flash of raygun fire, and the cave began to shake.

The next ten seconds were pure panic- the cave collapsed, and there was dust, and then moaning.

"Nyna? Sage? Mars?"

"I'm here." Groaned Nyna.

Sage tapped on Erza's leg.

Silence.

"Mars!"

"Shit."

"Are you alright?" Yelled Nyna.

"…Not exactly."

Erza followed his voice, and saw the problem seconds later. Mars' right arm was completely buried in rubble.

"I'll get you out!" Erza exclaimed.

"Wait! Not gonna happen. You start moving me, this whole cliffside's gonna come down."

Erza looked up- it was true. They were in a death trap of a valley.

"I- I mean we- we can't just leave you!"

Mars rolled his eyes even though the pain. "Duh. But looks like the arm has to go."

Erza swallowed. "There must be some other way…"

"We don't have time to dig me out. Do it fast and I'll be fine," Mars reassured.

"You've got the steadier hand," Nyna added.

Erza readied himself, and with one quick swing, took off Mars' arm. There wasn't nearly as much blood as he expected, which he was grateful for.

As soon as he was loose, Mars ran out of the valley. He did quite well for someone is as much pain as he was, Erza thought.

Out of immediate danger, Mars rubbed his stump. "Maaan, Helna's gonna kill me! So is Lin… and Dad…!"

Sweating, Erza added "Maybe we should worry about getting you medical attention first."

"Nah, I'm fine…." Mars looked up. "What?"

"You… You just lost your fucking arm!"

"Ain't the first time."

"E-Erza… You didn't know about his arm?" Nyna laughed.

Sage looked like she was gigging as well, and it registered seconds later.

"It… wasn't your real arm?"

Mars wasn't laughing. "You thought you could just cut somebody's arm off out here in the middle of nowhere, no tourniquet or anything, and they'd be fine? **Dude**. Dude, why are you in charge!?"

"I… I didn't… I wasn't… I'm… sorry?" Erza spluttered. He recalled what he'd said earlier. How could he have been so… rude?

Mars' grim facade broke seconds later, and he guffawed. "Man you made that exact same face when we were in the park and Mom's dog stole your ice cream. Just as sparkly!"

"I-I was like, five! How do you remember that? And I do not sparkle!"

"Yeah, you do!"

"It's true. Your cheeks light up when you blush, like my hair." Nyna added.

"Maaaan, you three are way prettier than that old cave when you really get going," Mars chuckled.

Erza made a choking sound, and Nyna had to point out "Sage is leaving."

* * *

The sun was nearly set when NLA came into view.

"Y'know, Erza, for Shortzer's son, you really don't live up to the name," Mars pouted.

"My dad wasn't that short." He smirked. "But you are."

"Can we not get into this?" Nyna moaned from and even lower viewpoint than Mars. He sighed. "I can't wait to take a shower."

"I'll bet Weiss is waiting at the gate."

"I'll bet Ewan's there too and she won't even notice you," Nyna teased.

Erza shoved him lightly. He looked back, Mars was lagging. "You okay?"

"Yeah, it's just… wrong, y'know?" he muttered.

Erza felt his chest tighten. "Look if you've got a problem with my sister-"

"N-no, that's not it. You guys aren't really related, I get that. But… Well… Have you ever tried talking to a prone about an orphan?"

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"It don't work, is what I'm saying. They ain't got a word for it. Helna- her parents died when we were young. By human standards, she'd be an orphan, but she's got the whole clan as her family.

"You guy ain't siblings, but you're like a whole clan, right? But you barely know each other. It's wrong…"

Erza swallowed- he had a point. He'd never felt that any of his mother's other children besides Weiss were "Family," but… a clan? Maybe that was the word he'd never been able to find.

Sage tugged on Mars' shirt. "What is it, huh?" He cooed.

"She thinks maybe we should have a family reunion sometime. I like that idea!" Nyna answered.

"She also doesn't like it when you talk down to her," Erza added.

Mars frowned. "Are you two messing with me?"

"What?"

"How can you tell what she's thinking?"

Erza and Mars exchanged glances.

"You can't?"

"She's an open book."

Mars smiled. "I think you guys might be closer that I realized."

Erza started to say something, but was interrupted by;

"Big brother! Welcome home!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chunhua (and her sister Chara, who doesn't appear here but does next chapter) are Cross (Chloris) and Lao's children, belonging to Monapon

Tracee is Cross (Christie) and Lao's child, belonging to Kingddd17

Mira is Cross (Avencia) and Frye's child, belonging to shazamitylam

Enzo is Cross (Sergio) and Hope's child, belonging to Bloodrawknuckle

Robin is the child to two Crosses, Arisu and Locke, and belongs to Gangstapantsu

Percival is the child of Cross (Astra) and Elma, belonging to Andoryuanzuru

Eliza is the child of Cross (Rey) and Phog, belonging to Lailahqueen

No warnings for this chapter either!

* * *

"…So, you girls watch each other's backs out there."

Chunhua's heart was racing. "Don't you worry, Mr. Christoph! I'll take good care of your daughter!"

"I can take care of myself, Huang," Mira mumbled.

"Yeah, we'll take care of each other, I mean!"

Frye smiled. "I don't doubt it- if you're half the fighter your parents are, Mira's got nothing to worry about. Still, I pulled a few strings, and I got a couple of the more senior kids to go along with you. They've both got skell licenses already."

Chunhua felt her heart leap into her throat- Who could they be? The cool, mysterious Robin? The strong, heroic Percival? Erza, with his handsome, dashing…. Everything?!

"Chun!"

Chunhua turned just in time to be tackled by a flying child. "Tracee!" Chunhua hugged her little sister, then looked up. Mars was there and… oh. He was there. But it didn't matter! Even he couldn't ruin her big day! "Are you two here to see me off?"

"I'm here to see you both off!" Tracee chirped.

Chunhua paused, and felt her heart sink into her feet. They were the senior BLADEs. "Oh, come on! Frye, seriously!?"

"They're the Defense Secretary and the Commander's kids, you don't get much better than that for your first mission! And what happened to 'Mr. Christoph'…?"

"But it's my brother and…him!"

"Don't sound so happy to see me, you might hurt yourself," Enzo chuckled.

Mars smirked. "Enzo's not that bad, Chun."

"It's not your mother he's constantly hitting on!" Chunhua refuted.

"And I've made it very clear that he won't be hitting on you."

"And I've made it very clear that I'm into more… mature women," Enzo said.

"I'm plenty mature," Chunhua grumbled.

"Alanzi," Mira interjected. "I've double checked our weapons, ammo, armor, and rations, and I've laid out a plan of travel on FrontierNav. Are we ready?"

"Let me check that travel plan," Enzo answered.

Chunhua was shocked- he sounded… serious. Enzo was never serious!

"Hey, Trace? You ready to go to to Eliza's?" Mars asked.

"Yep! Lin packed us a lunch and everything!"

Mars smiled. "Thanks for this, Frye."

"You don't have to thank me- I love spending time with my nieces!"

"Nieces?" Chunhua asked.

"Well, Christie is an honorary Christoph Brother!" Fyre laughed.

"This is pretty good," Enzo interrupted. "But we're going a little farther north than that before crossing into Noctilum. The terrain's easier there."

"But… you have skells," Mira said.

"Yeah, but we're only taking them if you feel like running behind us the whole way!" Mars laughed.

Mira blushed. Chunhua worried for a second that her dumb brother had hurt her feelings, but Frye spoke up.

"You kids seem like you're set. See you later!"

"Bye-bye!" Tracee yelled, waving.

* * *

If Enzo was right about the terrain being easier farther north, it was a good thing he'd changed her plans, Mira thought. They were barely two miles past Janpath Lake and her legs were about to give out. A mimiosome would have no problems with this trek, but she was in a real body. She didn't want to slow her team down, but…

"Hold up!" Enzo called.

She froze. She felt a lurch in her stomach as Mars shifted his arm into raygun-mode- watching a limb change into a three-foot long weapon bordered on body horror.

The battle only lasted seconds- Enzo kicked dirt onto a flower, which then leaped out of the ground and was cut down just as quickly. Enzo picked up the tiny mortifole corpse.

"Hey, Chunhua! Think your mom would like this?"

"Ugh, you're such an idiot! Take a hint already!"

"You're lucky Dad hasn't kicked your ass yet, Enzo," Mars laughed.

"Aw, come on. He's got like, a harem! He should share!"

"He does not!" the siblings yelled, more loudly than was probably safe in the Miran wilderness.

Mira frowned. She admittedly wasn't terribly close with the Huang family, but word got around. "Huang, you don't have the same mother as Cross or that girl back in NLA though, right?"

"Yeah. Papa has kids with his three best friends- but he's only ever been together with one of them."

Mars grinned. "We don't have the most traditional family, but it works for us."

Mira felt bile rise in her throat- it wasn't untraditional, it was unnatural. Mr. Huang, of all people, should know the dangers of the protoplasm. And yet here he was, creating more chimera children. He'd been the one to start the trend, in fact! Mars Cross was the first chimera child, but far from the last. At least it wasn't quite as bad as combing species, but-

"Are you okay?" Chunhua asked.

"I'm fine." Now Alanzi and Cross were looking at her too, ugh! "Can we go?"

"We're taking five," said Enzo. "We're all tired, and you're fading the worst."

Mira bristled at that- but she did need a break.

* * *

Enzo held up his arm, then beckoned them closer. "There's our target… and there's a tyrant. Damn."

Sitting proudly on top of the Whale wreckage was an abnormally large simius. It only registered as danger level 15, but something that big was a threat anyway.

Mira heard the whirring of Mars' arm, but purposefully looked away.

Enzo smacked him. "There's probably a thousand nesting vespers here, dumbass!" he whispered. "A raygun flash is the last thing we need."

"How about a sniper?" Mira added.

"Can you make the shot?"

"Yes," she answered unwaveringly.

All eyes were on her as she lined up her rifle. It made her more nervous than the indigen did, honestly, but she wasn't about to say it. She took a breath, steadied her hand, and _Bang_!

The simius fell down, dead. There was a slight rustling overhead, but no vespers bothered to come down to their level. "Nice shot," Mars congratulated as the others descended to the wreckage.

"It was nothing."

"It sure as hell wasn't! Dad couldn't have done any better himself."

Mira felt her cheeks redden- that was high praise. Mars was smiling in such a sweet way, with no hint of his normal mischievousness. She started to say something-

And Chunhua screamed. A black cloud of screeching vespers crowded the cave, and she dropped her gun-

"Chun!" Mars yelled, there was gunfire, blasts of light-

"Mars, get Mira out!

"Chunhua! CHUNHUA!"

"THAT'S AN ORDER!"

Mira felt a harsh yank on her arm, and she was running. The two cleared the cave, and Mars swore.

No less than five Ganglion skells were parked outside the cave's entrance, though their pilots were nowhere to be seen. Mars pulled her behind a giant mass of flora.

"It was an ambush. A Goddamn ambush. Dammit!" Mira could hear his metal fist creaking- she was glad he was holding onto her with his real arm.

She was shaking uncontrollably. This was supposed to be a simple deal! Ten units of phogrium for 100,000 credits- it was the deal of a lifetime. What had gone wrong? Was it the simius? Had something scared the vespers? And why had they even brought weapons!?

The whirring of engines snapped her out of her reverie. The skells flew off, and Mars stood. "They took them. They went northeast- there's an old stronghold that way. That's where they'll take them."

Mira sniffled- she hadn't even realized that she was crying. "So, we're gonna save them?"

"If there's anything left to save."

"What? Why would the Ganglion take them if…?"

"They're prone," Mars answered in a tight, angry voice.

It took her several seconds to understand what he was implying- and she immediately wished she hadn't.

"B-but they don't…. They don't…!"

"Some of these scum do. You'd know if you were in the Harriers."

It was a vague memory- an old BLADE fairy tale to scare children. "That… actually happened?"

"Yeah. It did." Mars tugged her to her feet. "We need to move."

"My rifle…"

"We can't go back. There might be some more in the cave, and if we end up engaging the enemy we're dead anyway."

They made their way through the brush on shaky legs. Of all of the day's happenings, there was one thing that bothered her the most. It was something Mars has said- from what she knew of him, it had been out of character.

"…Cross?"

"Yeah?"

"You… you called the prone scum earlier."

"Uh-huh. What about it?"

"I… I thought you… Well, never mind."

Mars looked back, his jaw clenched. "No, finish that thought."

"I didn't know you hated prone."

"I don't. I love prone. I hate Ganglion."

Mira blinked. What did he mean? "Prone make up most of the Ganglion now, don't they?"

"They're Cavern Clan- what's left of it."

"I don't get it."

"Most of the prone in NLA are from the Tree Clan- the only Cavern Clan are defectors. Aunt Slovity says they used to be a proud Clan, once. But around a century ago the Ganglion conquered their planet, and most the the Clan's culture was destroyed. They're born into service of Samaar, and have basically no education outside of how to fight. They're not… evil, per se, but they are feral."

Mira was listening intently- she hadn't known any of this. Maybe if she had, this deal wouldn't have gone south… "So they can't be reasoned with…"

"Not at all. Aunt Slovity was born into the same conditions as the monsters that murdered Grette and Adelbert, but she thought for herself. It's not reason they lack- it's free will."

"O-oh." Now things were starting to make sense. This attack had been planned- it was far too complex to be for food. They needed hostages. "Um, Cross? I have an idea."

"Hmm?"

"I have some Phogrium here in my bag. Do you think we could buy the hostages with it?"

Mars stopped. "That… that stuff's really rare. Maybe? But why do you- actually, no, that's not important. How much?"

"Ten units."

Mars whistled. "That's quite a bit. Yeah, that might work! As long as they don't shoot us on sight…"

"We could leave our weapons behind."

"Yeah, no. I'm pretty attached to my raygun."

Mira scowled. This was no time for puns! "Can't you just take it off?"

"…My whole arm?"

"I mean, you don't leave it on when you sleep, right? Just leave it behind!"

Mars made an odd face. "I… I'd really rather not…"

"Why are you being so stubborn? This is a life and death situation!"

"Because you're asking me to remove part of my body! You wouldn't like it if I told you to cut off your arm, would you?"

"But it's not a real arm! It's a hunk of metal! You can put it back on later!"

"It is real!" he snapped. "It's my arm!"

Mira paused. He… he looked near tears. "But… it's not your natural arm…"

"I've had this arm for fourteen years! That's longer than I had my first one! It doesn't matter if I wasn't born with it- it's part of my body!"

He was crying now. Mira lowered her eyes. "I'm sorry. I don't get it… I just don't." There were a lot of things she didn't get about the Huangs. "Maybe… maybe I should go in alone."

"No way."

"Think about it, Cross. I can unequip myself easily, and one girl is far less threatening than a pair."

"You don't have any experience dealing with prone-"

"I'll be fine. Like you said, if it comes to blows, we're dead. But if I fight, you can use the distraction to save your sister. It just makes sense."

Mars grit his teeth. She had a point- several points. "Dammit. Dammit, you're right, and I hate it! If you go and die, I'm going to kill you, understand?"

"Got it. No dying."

* * *

The ten minutes Mars had to wait were the longest of his life- the hour trapped in a wrecked skell with a beam sticking through his arm wasn't half as painful as having his little sister's life out of his hands. He wanted to scream, to shoot something, to run out and demand Chunhua's release, but he didn't dare alert the Ganglion to his presence.

"Mars!"

"Chun!"

He turned and ran- his little sister was in his arms again, and he wouldn't let go if the world ended. She was bloodied and bruised, but there were nothing more than light wounds. She was sobbing, and honestly, so was he.

"I'm alive too, thanks for the concern," Enzo muttered.

Mars looked up blearily. "You aren't my baby sister."

"H-he saved me, Mars. He got shot for me. A-and I'm not a ba-"

"You got shot!?" Mars barked.

"I got grazed. Mira patched me up already," he said as held up his arm, which was wrapped in what used to be Mira's jacket.

"He'll need treatment back in the city, but the shot cauterized itself. There's not much blood," Mira stated.

"Ouch!"

Mira felt an enormous weight crush against her, which was unsurprisingly, Mars. He still hadn't let go of Chunhua- the three were stuck in a giant bear hug.

"Thank you, Mira. Thank you."

"Big brother, you're squishing me…!" Chunhua gasped.

Mira felt weak in the knees when he finally let go. It was unpleasant and rough, but… she almost… liked the feeling?

Or maybe the adrenaline was wearing off. That was probably it.

* * *

It was 2:30 am when they arrived at Janpath Lake. The base camp was just a few minutes more, and they were all exhausted. There was a medical team waiting from them- the light from the police-type skells were blinding in the dark.

Mira stumbled, and Mars caught her. "Just a little longer," he reassured.

She stood, but in her exhaustion, she didn't let go. They walked in silence for a few seconds. Mira broke it.

"Mars?"

"Hm?"

"Why were you born?" Mira yawned.

Mars tripped. "What?"

Mira was wide awake after the jolt. She regretted her question already, but she'd come this far…

"I mean… why did your parents decide to create you? Did they just wake up one day and decide, hey, let's make life out of the protoplasm? I mean, after what happened to your fath-"

"Er, Mira? We… we don't really talk about what happened… with my dad…" Mars took a deep breath.

"Anyway, that's not what happened… at all…

"The core's lower computer bank was destroyed in the crash. It had the consciousnesses of the twenty million people brought from Earth in it- so they all died. But the computer that had the biological data wasn't submerged. It survived."

Mira was getting impatient. She knew all of this!

"We've got the ability right now to make bodies for all twenty million passengers- but since we can't transplant memories, they'd all be babies, basically. But… not everyone in the core was an adult, either.

"When they found Mom's biological data… she was pregnant. With me."

Mira gasped. "You… were a passenger?"

"Yeah, I… I'm the only passenger that survived. Erza didn't come until I was over a year old." He left a moment for that to sink in. "And… my dad… He didn't know he was my dad at the time. My parents didn't even meet until they crashed on Mira. Apparently there was some sort of program back on Earth where women could have kids without actually being with a guy, and both of my parents joined that program. Lao and I found out we were related when I needed a transfusion after t-the crash… I got really lucky. If we weren't a match, I'd have died when I was thirteen."

"Mars, I… I didn't know any of this."

Mars smiled sadly. "I don't talk about it much."

Mira took a second to ready her thoughts, and opened her mouth-

"There they are! Medics!"

In a busting second, she was wrapped in a blanket and the siblings were hugging their father- and seconds later, she was hugging hers. In her father's warm embrace, all melted away- her worries, her restraint from crying, and her words to Mars that would remain forever unspoken.


	3. The Curse

No new kids this time- it does, however, involve Helna Jacul, a very minor NPC in the game. She's the daughter of Bazis Wolfen and Hexuna Nebra, born during the sidequest _A New Life_.

 **WARNINGS:** Gore, Character Death, Torture

This chapter is the reason the fic is rated M!

 **The Curse**

* * *

All weddings, human or prone, were a big deal in NLA.

Admittedly, prone weddings were over much more quickly. Generally, prone performed the ceremony less than three days after proposing- when Nemard Wolfen heard that his niece was going to wait over three months to have hers, he was aghast;

"I am marrying a human, and I want to have a human wedding!" Helna insisted, and there was nothing her uncle could do to change her mind.

* * *

"How are you going to plan an entire wedding in three months?" Lao asked his son doubtfully.

"With… lots of help?"

"Mars, I realize you were fairly young when I got married, but there was no way we could have planned that in three months. And it was small."

"Yeah, well, I've got Mom, Aunt Christie, Auntie Chloris, and four sisters to help! We'll pull it off."

And three months of taste testing prone foods, searching through the Lifehold archives for appropriate music, and a quite frankly insane amount of mortifole bouquets later, they did. It was a bit odd in spots- some (in fact, most) of the tablecloths were made out of tank tops, and some of the centerpieces had bullet holes, but to the guests, it looked quite nice. For an interspecies marriage, it was going unusually smoothly. The good luck was bound to end- and it did.

"…Speak now, or forever hold your peace."

"I object!" yelled a particularly drunk prone. Some gasped, others groaned. Helna was furious. "I challenge the little human to battle for Helna's hand in marriage!"

"Get him out of here!" she demanded, and Lao stood to grab him.

Another prone stood. "I think Mars should fight Bezla!"

"This wedding was getting boring!"

"A good fight brings good blessings!"

"BE QUIET!" Mars shouted. All eyes turned to him. "I accept Belza's challenge!"

Prone cheered, and the human guests shuffled and whispered nervously. Helna took Mars by the arm. "Are you sure? You are not prone, you do not have to fight."

Mars smiled. "I'll be fine- your uncle will never accept me if I can't prove I can take care of you."

"Take care of me? I have always been stronger than you."

"I know that, but your uncle doesn't."

"My uncle is a fool- and so are you. Go, and show all prone that you are at least a true warrior, my foolish love!" Helna laughed.

The battle was quick- Belza was slow and drunk. He made a grab for Mars, who then dodged and used Belza's arm to gain leverage and launch onto his back. Mars hooked his prosthetic arm around Belza's neck, and in minutes he fell unconscious, mostly unharmed. Mars stood victorious to raucous cheering- at least on one side of the aisle.

* * *

Mars slipped in the doorway quietly. "Everybody here?"

"Yes," answered his wife.

Lao turned to the door. "What's going on here? Don't you two have a party to host?" Red, Christie, and Chloris, seated next to him, nodded.

"Well, there's actually something we wanted to talk to you about." He sat next to Helna, and looked to her for assurance. "We… we're going to have a baby."

The four gasped, and Lao sighed. "Mars, that's an awfully big decision to make this early."

Christie raised an eyebrow. "Weren't you nineteen when Chenshi was born?"

"W-well, yes-"

"I'm twenty-seven, Dad," Mars laughed.

Lao sighed. He knew when he'd lost. "Age isn't the only thing to take into consideration here- creating xeno/human hybrids in the Lifehold takes a lot of time and research. It was over a year after you were born before Elma had her first child- doing the same with a prone would be starting over from scratch."

Mars and Helna exchanged a glance. "I.. don't think you quite get what I was saying…"

"I am pregnant," Helna explained.

Christie gasped. Red gaped. Chloris pressed her hands against her mouth with a small shriek.

And Lao just about choked to death.

While Lao was having his coughing fit (and Christie went to get him some ice water) Red turned to her son. "I didn't know this was possible."

"We did not either, until last week," Helna explained.

Mars blushed. "That-that's kinda how this happened… Er, is Dad okay?"

Lao swallowed. "I… I need alcohol." And he left the room.

"We have upset your father…" Helna sighed.

"He'll be okay," Red assured.

"I'll go make sure he doesn't get thrown in a dumpster again. Congratulations, Mars!" Christie said as she left.

"Thanks… Um, again?"

Red rolled her eyes. Chloris explained; "This is pretty much his 'Welcome to the family' tradition."

Mars raised an eyebrow.

"The only times your father gets well and truly drunk is right before we add a baby to the family. The first time was the night before you were born," Red added.

"Then again the nights before Chara and Chunhua were born."

"And then the day Christie asked him if he'd have a child with her too-"

"And that one would be the dumpster incident," Chloris laughed. "At least he didn't have a hangover when Tracee was born."

"And the last time was when he found out he was your real father," Red finished.

"So, I did not upset him?" Helna asked.

"Well, he probably is upset, but he'll calm down pretty quickly," Red said.

"And he's not upset with you!" Chloris clarified.

"He's probably thinking about Chenshi right now."

"I… do not understand."

"Dad… he had a child before me. A daughter. She died a few years before I was born. And her name was Chenshi."

"I see… I did not know that. I am sorry…"

"Don't be silly! You've got nothing to apologize for."

"Perhaps, but all the same… Would it be possible for me to walk him home tonight? I would like to have a discussion with him."

* * *

 _"Hello, what is your emergency?"_

 _"T…there's been a shooting."_

 _"Sir, have you been drinking?"_

 _"In the alley behind Army Pizza. A prone woman. She's been shot. Send help."_

 _"Alright. Sir, can you say on the line?"_

 _*Click*_

* * *

Mars was numb.

He should have been angry- or at least sad.

His mother was climbing the walls. His sisters were sobbing. His aunts were torn between crying, calming down the girls, and trying to stop his mother from murdering someone.

He was just sitting there. Just breathing was exhausting- talking or standing seemed impossible.

It had been twelve hours since his wedding.

His wife was dead.

His child was dead.

And his father was missing. Honestly, that was the one that upset him the most- the other two didn't seem real.

It was some cruel prank. It had to be. That bloody body (and the one inside her) in the morgue were fake. She'd walk in any minute, say how foolish he was for believing it, everyone would laugh and they'd go on their honeymoon. That had to be it. The body didn't even look like her- she was a beautiful blue, the fake was dull and mottled grey.

She'd walk in any minute now.

"We should go home, Mars," Chara said, and she was in on it, of course, Helna was waiting at home and he shouldn't make her wait.

Tracee came into his room a few minutes past four, her eyes red and swollen, and asked what he was doing.

"I'm waiting for her to come home."

"Can I wait with you?"

He nodded, and they laid down on the bed, holding onto each other.

She fell asleep in minutes, and her soft breathing lulled him into unconsciousness not long after.

Helna came home in the morning, and it was all in good fun. Everyone laughed at him, and it was a bit embarrassing, but there was no harm done. His dad came home with her- he'd planned the whole thing! What a jokester. It was all because of a comment he'd made a few months back about how nobody in his family could act- well, they'd certainly proved him wro-

"Mars, I have to go to school."

Mars rolled over. Tracee was in the doorway.

"See you later."

"See you."

She left. How had he gotten to the bedroom?

He was just in the living room.

It didn't make sense.

Unless he…

He…

He'd never left.

Mars screamed.

* * *

It was cold in the morgue.

They were in the box labeled W51-19. He'd come to look at her. He'd been there for an hour. He hadn't touched it.

He had come close once- he'd reached for the latch, but then he'd lost his nerve- and last night's dinner. He'd cleaned the mess up, because it was something to do other than touch the box, and then he'd sat down in the corner and hadn't moved.

When he was thirteen, he'd seen something terrible. He'd wanted to see his arm one last time. His father had warned him, but didn't stop him.

It was in three pieces, held together by strips of skin and muscle. Part of it was oozing, and the color was putrid.

It didn't look gross to him.

It looked fake.

He was terrified that if he looked at her, she'd be an uncanny plastic doll, like his arm had been. He didn't want to remember her that way.

…But he wanted to see her again. God, did he want to see her again. He wanted to talk to her (like they had when he was fourteen and he'd found out that his father hated xenos, and he felt like he couldn't trust anyone) and kiss her (like he had when he was thirteen and they'd taken the bandages off his face and he'd seen the scars that would never go away, and he'd called himself ugly for the first time and she'd called him beautiful for the first time) and hold her in his arms (like when they were five and they were playing BLADEs in the park, and he'd saved her from a tyrant and she punched him in the jaw for stealing her kill, and he'd cried and she gave him a hug to make the pain go away).

He missed her so much that he felt like he was dying. And she hadn't been dead for a full day.

His wife was dead.

His child was dead.

Maybe he would die too.

He jumped when the door opened. Two prone and a doctor entered.

"Uncle Nemard…" Mars choked.

"Do not call me your uncle!" he shouted. "No Ganglion is family to me!"

Mars simply gaped. Ganglion…?

"You do not belong here. Leave!"

"What's going on? What are you two even doing here?"

"I am here to take me niece's body to perform funeral rites. But no Ganglion will defile her any more!"

"Are you calling me… Ganglion?"

"Yes! Just like your father!" The other prone-Belza- joined in. He had a large, bloody gash on his face- Mars hadn't realized he'd hurt him so badly. At the moment, he didn't care.

"My father isn't part of Ganglion! He killed Luxaar!"

"Your father is the killer of many, yes! He killed foul Luxaar and beautiful Helna just the same!"

Mars felt like he'd been punched in the gut. "Dad… Didn't… He's missing, he might be dead too…"

"He is missing because he ran from scene! Earth alien police found his weapon!"

"YOU'RE LYING!"

"Mars! No fighting in the hospital!" the doctor shouted.

It took Mars a moment to figure out what had upset him- he'd activated his raygun. He quickly put it away. "He's lying."

"No, Mars. I'm afraid he isn't. The Mediators found a recently fired handgun at the scene- your mother confirmed that it belonged to your father, and his prints were on the trigger. Add to that the fact that he's gone missing, and he's shaping up to be the prime suspect. I'm sorry."

Mars felt like he was going to vomit again, but he held himself together. There had to be another explanation- yes, his father didn't approve of him marrying Helna, and yes, he knew how to handle a gun… but so did Mars.

"What about the caliber of the bullets? The gunpowder residue? Did they find any shell casings? And if they did, did they match the handgun? And do they match the bullet that killed Helna?"

"Wait, Mars! I'm just a mortician. We won't know that without an autopsy."

"No autopsy!" bellowed Nemard. "No cutting up Helna like steak! We take her now, feed her to beasts!"

"You've got to be joking! If we don't do an autopsy, we'll probably never know who killed her!"

"Old Ones will bring justice. But only if Helna is fed to strong beast in one piece!"

Mars was on his feet. "You're not taking her."

"I am her family! I will take her now!"

"You're her uncle- I'm her husband. Her next of kin. Legally, I get to make this call."

"You are son of traitor- not family!"

"And you are breaking the law!"

"NOT PRONE LAW!" In one quick movement, Mars was slammed into the wall.

"D-doc, help!"

He looked back and forth pitifully. "I-I-I don't want to offend you prone fellows, b-but he's right…"

"Will, you break our legs and stop us, human?"

"P-please don't hurt me.."

Mars struggled to his feet- he could feel wetness on the back of his neck, and his vision was blurring.

Belza slammed him into the cement floor. His ears were ringing- but in a moment, his vision cleared and he saw Nemard- holding Helna.

Her head hung limply over her uncle's arm, and her skin was a dull grey…

But for a brief instant, her face was still beautiful.

And then the world went black.

* * *

The world came in focus slowly, in bits and pieces of color and pain. The harsh white light above his head was bad enough, but it was about to burn out and the flickering was beyond annoying.

It took nearly ten minutes of staring into the damn light before he could speak. He could tell there was someone leaning on his bed, but he couldn't turn his head to tell who. He clumsily made a blind grab for them.

Red let out a startled grunt. "You're awake," she yawned.

"How… long?"

"About a day. You have a concussion- it's not bad. You have a broken kneecap as well, and you just went through surgery a few hours ago. They say you'll recover."

His mother's matter-of-factness brought a small smile to his face. Leave it to the best swordswoman in BLADE to be completely unaffected by any injury- to others or herself.

They sat in silence for a few minutes- Red was never one for small talk. Mars was grateful for the chance to organize his thoughts.

"…Mom?"

"Yeah?"

"Why-" he choked. He started over. "Why'd he do it?"

"…Mars? I don't…"

Mars could feel his cheeks growing wetter by the second. "Do you think it was an accident? He'd been drinking…"

Red's face could have been made of stone. "He didn't kill her."

"Mom, you're kidding yourself. You know how Dad feels about xenos. He was never too loud about it around us kids- you made sure of that. But I know how he feels, now that I'm older. All the evidence-"

"You don't know 'All the evidence', Mars. They found something while you were in surgery. There was a sniper rifle set up in the alley- it was Helna's. They matched the bullet the doctors removed from her abdomen to the rifle. There weren't any prints, but whoever it was that stole Helna's rifle was the one that killed her."

"Then Dad…"

"Was shooting at the sniper." Red smiled sadly. "Did you really think your father was stupid enough to shoot someone and not wipe off his prints? Even drunk, that's wildly out of character. But more than that…"

Red laid her hand on her son's shoulder. "He'd never kill the person you love. Helna could have cut off his legs with a butter knife- he knew how much you loved her, so he still wouldn't lay a hand on her. That goes double after he found out she was carrying his grandchild.

"Your father didn't like xenos- but he loved his family. And she was part of that family."

"Mom… do you think… he's…."

Red lowered her eyes. "I don't think we're going to see him again," she whispered.

Mars cried. For the first time since this nightmare began, he felt… sad. Not angry, or hopeless, or numb. Just sad.

His wife was dead.

His child was dead.

His father was dead.

And life would go on.

* * *

Belza Vingent woke up chained to a rock.

Slowly, he recalled his last waking moments. He'd been standing in Oblivia with Nemard Wolfen and his family. Nemard had invited him along- he was the one Helna should have married, not the traitor's son. Nemard had never understood why his brother had allowed to two to become friends- and by the time he and his wife were killed in the Ganglion attack, the damage had been done.

Helna Jacul was the most beautiful prone on Mira, and stronger than most men. It was unfortunate that her mind was just as strong.

She had many strange alien ideas- she wanted to be a BLADE. She wanted to fight with Earth alien guns. She wanted to wear Wrothian clothing. She even wanted to train with the Cavern Clan whore! The way she fetishized alien culture was nothing less than revolting.

But Belza would have loved her anyway. She would have forgotten that ugly little pink alien the first night they laid in bed as husband and wife- but it was not meant to be.

Belza would be her husband in death, at least. Her "human" marriage was a farce- when he paced the horn-ring of betrothal of her cold finger, they were truely wed. Perhaps, if he was a good enough husband, the Old Ones would have mercy on the foolish girl and bring her back in a body just as lovely. He hoped so.

It had been a great black jacul that came for her- when it flew across the sky, the world turned to night for a brief moment. It had been so mighty that it did not even notice the onlookers.

But then Nemard had collapsed, and then his wife, and then Belza had felt a pain in his neck and the world had gone dark.

And now he was chained to a rock.

He gave a great tug on his chains, but they did not budge. He was known among all prone for being quick of wit, not strong of body. He cursed.

"Finally awake, huh?"

Belza looked up. Hidden deep in the shadows was a man in a black cloak that covered all but his mouth- he had not even noticed him.

"The ma-non I bought these tranqs from said they'd knock out a grown male prone- they didn't mention for how long. I was getting tired of waiting."

"Who are you?! Why am I here!?"

"You really can't guess? Well, let's give you an easier question, then. What is this?"

The man held out his hand. A round piece of metal, with another one jutting out. The center was glass.

"That is… a piece of an Earth alien gun."

"Bingo! Mostly. This is a sight for a sniper rifle. As you can see here, it clips on. Most sights don't do that- they're attached to the gun itself. But this one has an interesting story.

"Many years ago, a little prone girl came up to me and asked me to teach her how to shoot a gun. Now, I don't generally like prone, so I said no. But it turns out this girl was good friends with a couple of my children, so I offered to give her one lesson.

"It went terribly. Poor girl couldn't hit the broadside of a barn. But she tried so damn hard, I told her I'd work with her some more.

"Two months went by. It was plain to see she wasn't getting any better, so I sat her down and told her the truth- she had no skill, and needed to find something else. I was kind to her- I talked to her like I did my own daughters- but she still cried. She begged and begged me for just one more lesson- made me promise that if she could hit a bullseye, I'd keep teaching her.

"And that girl's next shot was a goddamn bullseye. I couldn't believe it. I asked her if it was a fluke, or if she'd figured something out, and you know what she told me? Instead of aiming for the center of the target, she'd aimed a little down and to the left. She'd noticed her shots always went farther up and to the right than they were supposed to, so she compensated.

"Now the reason for this was that prone have two more eyes that humans do- your skulls are shaped differently. What was a perfectly lined up sight for me was about four degrees off for her.

"This little ten year old girl that had never held a gun two months ago figured that out when I couldn't. I'd never felt so humbled. So I took the next three months making this little thing- it's a second sight that clips onto the first. That way, she could use two eyes instead of one, and that girl turned out to be the best student I've ever had.

"Of course, this thing isn't perfect- since it detaches, you have to carry it separately. And if it gets banged up a bit in your bag, you have to realign it- not to mention how easy it would be to lose. So a few weeks ago, I asked my son to sneak this back to me- turns out this little girl was all grown up and getting married. I was going to custom build her a rifle that had one of these built in for her wedding gift. But of course, that meant any prone that used her current gun would shoot four degrees off. Helna knew better than to go off and try to shoot with a misaligned gun… But you didn't."

Belza was sweating. How could he know? Who was this human?

The man ripped off Belza's bandage. "Don't feel too bad. I missed you too, and that was entirely my own fault." He pressed his fingers into the spot where he'd been grazed nights before, and Belza hissed in pain.

The man stood. "Now normally, the thing to do would be to tape your confession and bring you in to the authorities- but you've been quite busy, and half the population of NLA would shoot me on sight at this point, so that's out. Funny how that works out, isn't it?

"So, in the sense of fairness, I'll give you the same chance you gave Helna. I'll shoot you in the stomach, untie you, and you can use that comm over there on the table to call for help. If the medics make it in time, you get to live. Sound good?"

"Please… Don't do this…! If you kill me, they'll arrest you instead!"

The man smiled sadly. "It's far too late for that. I can never set foot in that city again."

"Please! I'll tell everyone the truth! I'll- GAH!"

The pain was blinding. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't think. When the chains let loose, he collapsed on the floor. Slowly, painfully, he began to crawl to the table.

The cloaked man leaned back against the cave wall. "Oh, in the spirit of fairness and all… did you know Helna was pregnant?"

Belza gaped despite the pain. "Im-impossible…" His dear Helna had not been violated like that- he'd stopped it!

"Oh, it's true. So I should add in the chance you gave my granddaughter as well… She was probably dead as soon as the bullet hit her mother, but I didn't notice that Helna was miscarrying until… oh, 45 seconds later?" He checked his watch. "You just hit 30. Better hurry."

Belza Vingent knew he was going to die. "YOU ALIEN SCUM! YOU SHOULD BE DEAD, NOT HELNA! MAY THE OLD ONES CURSE YOUR BLOODLINE'S FIRSTBORN SONS UNTIL THE END OF-"

The gunshot was quieter than the prone's voice. Lao sighed. "It's too late for that."

He didn't need to turn to know who was standing behind him. "I'm ready."

"You've kept me waiting quite a long time."

"I know." Lao methodically checked that the rock he'd placed of the folded sheet of paper was secure for what was probably the tenth time- it wouldn't do to have his goodbyes blown away by a stray wind.

"I'm ready to fulfill my purpose… Master."


End file.
